How do we achieve consensus?

When it comes to spreading ideas, there are battles for the minds of the stakeholders. Each person has different and usually contradicting ideas about the objectives and how they should be achieved.  What motivates others to follow and support our vision? The answer is sell, sell, and sell. For me effective selling isn't so much in the speech. It is in understanding our stakeholders, their needs and their willingness to buy into the solution. By adapting our vision to our stakeholders and allowing them to participate in the solution, we greatly increase the chances for success. For the poor, eradicating poverty may mean greater organization and access to tools for self-help. For the rich it may mean investment in education facilities and infrastructure to increase the availability of skilled workers.

The dark side to influencing others occurs when it is carried out with negative emotions. How are the stakeholders being motivated? Through hate, fear, anger and blaming others, or through passion, empathy, enthusiasm and love of achievement and team work? For me, to achieve true consensus each of the stakeholders should buy into the idea with their own logical thought process that will guide them through the tasks ahead of them. In nature we can clearly see the difference between a swarm of locusts following blindly and leaving a trail of destruction, and a colony of ants with roles and responsibilities geared towards growth and sustainability. After all the emotion has evaporated and we are confronted with hard work, each of us must find inspiration in doing what is right for us. Leaders should demonstrate through example that each of us in the collective must assume full responsibility for our actions and be accountable for the results.

Who am I?

This is a question that is difficult to answer in a direct manner. What tendencies do we have? How will we react to a given situation in a given moment? It may seem that we are not so connected to our inner self but I think that if we observe carefully at what we care about in a given situation, we will start to find the answer. For example, most parents will do whatever it takes to ensure the well-being of their family in a perilous situation and the way they respond is a reflection of their inner self. By believing in something and acting upon it with our heart, our true self becomes evident.

When we care about something our thoughts are dominated by it. For some it may be the love of a spouse, the well-being of a new-born child, the football match or the legacy we leave for future generations.  In these situations our principles, values, beliefs, intentions and experiences are activated, and reflect a part of who we are. Our feelings surface when we really care about something and we express them with a variety of emotions including happiness, anger, love and anxiety. Our behavior is generally a manifestation of our thoughts in the physical world and an important component of our communication.

I believe we are defined by our thoughts, feelings and behavior. If we want to know ourselves better then it is imperative to start with our thoughts, both conscious and unconscious. For example, how would you feel if a stranger forbids you to do something? Even though this may appear to be a logical issue such as minimizing risk, it's a sure thing there will be an underlying emotional issue such as the need for freedom, that may generate discord.  To study our thoughts we must live the moment and pay close attention to how they affect our daily experience.

If we are not defined by our thoughts then it is easy to think that in essence we are the way we are and there is no need to change. For me the danger in this attitude is that we can go through our entire lives surviving the nightmares of our reality time and time again. Life has shown us what happens when we try to impose our will on nature, for example by changing the course of a river. When things go wrong because the river returns to its original course, many of us end up asking ourselves why life dealt us this card.

Cogito, ergo sum. René Descartes used this expression "I think, therefore I am" as a proposal for existence, later concluding with "I am, I exist". For me this expression describes the connection between our thoughts and our existence. It could be said that our thoughts create our reality and I believe that in many respects this is true.

I think that among the more important aspects of our human condition is to be conscious of our thoughts, decisions, emotions and actions. It is precisely these elements that define a part of who we are. Being conscious goes beyond being aware of our reality and it requires paying attention to the present moment. For me this implies participating actively in life in such a way that we are open to the situations we create, taking full responsibility for the thoughts, decisions, emotions and actions that originate from us. That is why I think that the great masterpieces of humanity are created when we challenge ourselves to be the best we can be. If we assume an attitude of constant search for our truth, and help others along the way, we shall find the treasures that this life has to offer us, such as the unconditional love of our family.